Rail-clamp.



D. S. WERT.

.RAIL'CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5, 1909.

V Patented Dec. 7', 1909.

wue/wto n flawed S Weri I attorney! UNITED STATES PATENT FIGE.

DAVID S. WERT. 0F PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAIL-CLAMP.

Application filed March 5, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID S. WERT, citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Clamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvement-s in rail fasteners, and relates particularly to an improved clamp designed to secure the rail to the tie.

The invention has for its object a simple, durable and eflicient construction of rail clamp which may be cheaply and easily manufactured and which may be readily applied to any of the accepted types of metallic ties to securely and rigidly hold the rail thereon, and the invention consists in certain constructions and arrangements of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof, and to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of portions of two rails, illustrating my improved rail clamp in applied position; Fig. 2 is a transverse longitudinal sectional view, the section being taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged sections illustrating difl'erent adjustments of which the clamps are capable; and, Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the clamps.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawing by the same reference characters.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the bed or top portion of a metallic railway tie which may be of any desired construction or design, so far as its general character is concerned; that is to say, my invention is applicable to metallic ties of different cross sectional contour, such as I beams, T beams, or channeled or boxed constructions.

2 designates the base flanges of the rails.

The tie 1 is formed on opposite sides of each rail with preferably punched-out openings 3 extending therethrough, the walls of said openings being preferably clownwardly flared or beveled, and the opposing Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 7, 1999.

Serial No. 481,244.

portions of said walls being spaced from each other a distance somewhat less than the width of the superposed rail base. In addition to these openings 3, the tie l is also formed with apertures 4 spaced from and in' longitudinal alinement with adjacent openings 3, the said openings 3, as will be best seen by reference to Fig. 1, being disposed in offset relation to each other.

5 designates my improved clamp which may be formed out of any suitable metal or material, although preferably constructed of relatively soft wrought steel. It is to be understood that these clamps may be produced by any desired process, and be formed by any desired method of manufacture. Each clamp embodies a head portion 6, a relatively long neck portion 7, and an attaching arm 9. The head 6 has its face edge 10 curved to correspond to the curvature of the rail flange, but on a larger radius, in order to provide for the proper adjustment, and the rear edge of the head describes an angle with the upper edge of the neck 7, the apex ll of which constitutes a fulcrum point. Preferably the rear edge of the head 6 is defined by a straight line, a distance upwardly from the fulcrum point 11 at least equal to the thickness of the bed or top portion of the tie through which the openings 3 are formed. The attaching arm 9 which projects upwardly at an angle to the neck 7, is preferably longitudinally split along its median line from its upper end to a point near its base or juncture with the outer end of the elongated neck, as indicated at 12.

In the practical use of my improved rail clamp, the rail is first placed in alinement over and between corresponding openings 3, and one of the clamps 5, say the inside clamp, is inserted partially through its opening and engaged with the adjacent base flange, care being taken to draw the tie so that the rear edge of the head 6 will engage the full extentof the beveled opening wall with the fulcrum point 11 abutting against the lower edge of such wall. In this position, it is evident that the attaching arm 9 of this clamp projects upwardly through the adjacent aperture 4 and is bent either as a whole in one direction or the other to engage with the top surface of the tie, or the split portions may be bent in opposite directions to effect such engagement, as clearly illustrated in the drawing. The opposite clamp for the same rail is then applied, and tension is exerted thereon, forcing this last named clamp to rock about the polnt 11 as a fulcrum until the desired tension has been obtained, the face edge of the head extending downwardly into looking contact with the adjacent base flange. This relative arrangement of the parts is illustrated in Fig. 3.

It is clear that the ideal arrangement is one wherein the rear edges of the heads of both clamps of a pair of clamps engage with the adjacent walls of the openings the full thickness of the top of the tie, as illustrated in Fig. 2; but it is also clear to those versed in the art to which this invention appertains, that this arrangement cannot always be carried out, owing to slight variations in the ties and rails, and also where it is necessary to slightly vary the gage.

As an example of the use of my improved clamps in changing the gage of a track, reference is to be particularly had to Figs. 3 and 4. By reference to these last named views, in connection with the foregoing description, it will be understood that by rocking one of the clamps about the fulcrum point 11 as an axis, in a direction to raise the point a of the clamp, and by rocking the opposite clamp in the opposite direction to lower its point I), the rail may be forced to the extreme right, as illustrated in Fig. 3. Conversely, by lowering the point a of one clamp, and raising the point 12 of the complementary clamp, the rail is forced to the extreme left.

From the foregoing description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that I hay e provided a very simple and durable construction of rail clamp which will securely hold the rails to the ties, after being once applied, and which may be easily secured in properly adjusted positions, the clamps acting upon the principle of levers with the fulcrum points at 11 the short arms being constituted by the head, and the longer arms by the neck portions, so that a maximum tension may be placed upon the rail against the tie, commensurate with the strength or tenacity of the material out of which the clamps are formed.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is The combination with a tie formed with openings extending therethrough and designed to lie underneath and at opposite sides of a superposed rail base, the said openings being downwardly flared, the tie being also formed with apertures spaced from said openings on opposite sides of a rail, a rail resting on. the ties between and over the opening, and clamps arranged to secure the rail to the tie, said clamps embodying heads projecting upwardly through the openings and formed with face edges curved correspondingly to the side edges of the base flanges, but on a larger radius, neck portions extending outwardly in opposite directions from the rail and underneath the tie and angularly disposed to the head portions, and upwardly extending attaching arms projected upwardly through the said apertures and arranged for adjustable fastening therein, the point of juncture be tween the rear edges of the heads and the upper edges of the neck portions constitut-' ing fulcrum points engaging the outer walls of the openings at the lower edges thereof and the rear edges of the heads being straight or plane from said fulcrum points and upwardly a distance at least equal to the height of the walls of said opening.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID S. WERT. [1,. s.] 'Witnesses WILLIAM A. JORDAN,

N. L. HOLMES. 

